Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Yep,
another Ewok – these guys reproduce like, well, like Ewoks. Teebo
comes with a boar-like cowl, a stone axe, and a satchel that may also
be a horn. In ROTJ, he probably was the most frightening looking
Ewok. Of course, with those black, dead eyes, they can all look a
little scary close-up. He was Wicket's friend in the animated
series, however.

Why should you buy this figure? Five reasons:
1. That toothed-cowl. Kind of menacing.

2. The Ewoks had a lot of stuff – you need figures to man them all.

3. His striped fur reminds you to change your underwear every now and then.

4. Wicket’s best friend! No seriously.

5. You don’t mess with an Ewok with teeth on top of his head.

Backstory:

Teebo
was the son of Warok, and best friends with Wicket. They shared
many adventures together (in the cartoons), and he was also an
apprentice to Logray for some time. He helped the Ewoks in their
battle against the Empire. His cowl was made from the head of a
gurreck, a powerful, four-footed Enor carnivore.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The
tauntaun – that workhorse, that beast of burden of Hoth. What can I
say about the tauntaun? They
smell like plastic, or really bad, depending on if you’re smelling
the toy or a real one (this site does not advocate that tauntauns
are real or unicorns for that matter). The tauntaun
was another beast (as opposed to sentient alien beings) from the Star
Wars universe, one that you could let your figures ride. The only
other animal to feature this in the original Kenner toys was the Dewback, which didn’t get nearly the screen time or lines.

The
figures were able to mount the tauntaun by inserting their rigid legs
into a trap door on its back. With the saddle in place, it looked
(vaguely) like the figure’s legs were saddling the tauntaun. The
tauntaun only came out in an ESB box, but in two versions. The first
was a normal, uneviscerated tauntaun. The second version (with a
slightly different box photo showing its use) was the tauntaun with
open belly feature. Yes! Our cries of putting Luke somewhere warm
until we could get a shelter together were answered! Yes, the new
tauntaun came with a pliable belly with a slit to put a deliriously
injured Luke into.

Why should you get this beast? Five reasons:

1. Practice your “grackle-grackle” mating call!

2. Get the open belly tauntaun, stuff in some cooked spaghetti, and let the scene begin.

3. Seriously – it’s got an open belly. You’ve got to see this!

4. Hoth Tours is just not the same unless it’s on one of these babies.

5. You wanted Kenner to make a bantha? Too bad! You’ve got a tauntaun.

Backstory:

Tauntauns
are native to Hoth, and have several subspecies (scaly, giant,
glacier, climbing), giants being the most common. When
the Rebels made their Echo Base, they trained tauntauns as riding
mounts since many vehicles did not work well in the cold climate.
The alpha female of a pack was subjugated first, making the rest easier
to train. They are also the primary food source for wampas, but their
horns, camouflage, and speed (up to 90 km/hr) are their defense.

Monday, July 29, 2013

While other figure packs were
made, they were department store exclusives and featured figures
already sold separately. The Sy Snootles set was the only figure set
from the original line where all the figures were only available
through the set. The
set is also interesting, since this band got made into figures, but
the Cantina Band from the first movie was never made into figures
in the original line.

The
set included Sy Snootles with a microphone (no two turntables),
Droopy McCool with chidinkalu flute and microphone, and Max Rebo with a
piano-like nalargon. Kenner's eventual buyer Hasbro would later do
another 3-figure set in their G.I. Joe line, the characters from
Cobra-La.

Why should you own this set? Five reasons:

1. Three figures! Get a whole band at once!

2. You can make them sing “Lapti Nek” as much as you want – screw the “Special Editions” that cut that out!

3. Does Sy…I think she does…does she have naked breasts?

4. The icons of a generation of aspiring musicians.

5. What? A blue elephant playing a round piano? Am I high or...oh, it's actually a figure.

Backstory:

Max Rebo (real name Siiruulian Phantele) [an Ortolan from Orto], Sy Snootles [a
Pa’Lowick from Lowick], and Droopy McCool (real name Snit) [a
Kitonak from Kirdo III] were the only three members of the band in
the original trilogy. In the “Special Edition” there
were at least three more members – but we are only talking about the
original, vintage line here. They had a fourth
member, but when invited to play at the Mos Eisley Cantina
(Chalmun’s bar), Figrin D’an (a cantina band member) tried to have
them killed. The unseen fourth member was the only one who died.

Sy
Snootles let max Rebo act as leader of the band, while secretly
controlling their actions. However,
while auditioning for Jabba, she was unable to stop him from
accepting his form of payment – all the food they could eat. They
narrowly escaped death, jumping off of Jabba’s exploding barge. Rebo
eventually wound up playing for Rebel troops and opening a successful
chain of restaurants. Droopy wandered off into the desert, despondent
at not having others of his kind around. Sy got addicted to spice and
never enjoyed a very prosperous solo career.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

If
you have one of these, congratulations! If you have one unopened in
the box, in pristine condition, congratulations – you can now buy a
small used car with it! As
I’ve said before on this blog, anything in the POTF line was
naturally rarer, since the line was petering out at that point. A
larger vehicle from this line is definitely rarer, and the Tatooine
Skiff (not to be confused with the mini Desert Sail Skiff or the even smaller Sand Skimmer) is arguably the rarest vehicle in the original Kenner line.

This
thing has everything you could want from the movie. It’s got the
steering “wheel.” Movable steering vanes. Retractable landing gear.
Levers you can move. And, of course, the gangplank to send the
prisoners into the Sarlacc! There are also some cupholders. Okay,
maybe they aren’t cupholders, but those six little holes in the middle
look like it damnit!

Why should you get this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. What looks cooler in a sandbox: this or a Tonka truck? You be the judge.

The
Bantha-II cargo skiff repulsorcraft was built by Ubrikkian
Industries as a standard cargo transporter (up to 100 tons), but
could be adapted to carry passengers as well. It had the ability to
hover up to 50 meters off the ground, and travel up to 250 km/hr. They
were very cheap and affordable to even the most backward planets.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Just in time for Halloween: the stormtrooper! Helmeted; white; menacing...unless you're a furry creature about a meter tall.

The
stormtrooper figure is one of the original twelve figures, and the
ultimate army builder. If you are not a hard-core collector, the
term "army builder" means figures that there are many, many of in
that universe. So, while there may only be one Han in the Star Wars
universe, there are a million stormtroopers (actually, it's
estimated that Luke killed about one million Imperials when he blew
up the first death star, making him the biggest killer in the
movies). In the first movie alone there were lord-knows-how-many
stormtroopers shot just by Luke and the gang while trying to get out
of the death star.

The stormtrooper had the
traditional blaster, which was subsequently copied for many of the
other figures in the Star Wars wave. His head couldn't turn, but in
subsequent versions (1990's+) it did. This figure came on all four
cards: SW, ESB, ROTJ, POTF. The figure itself is very close to the
actual stormtrooper detailing.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1.
As mentioned before, army builder, army builder, army builder. You
shouldn't own one, you should own 10. Check Ebay, there are probably
people selling 10-20 of these at a time.

2. They fall like dominoes in the movies - so get a bunch and have your own stormtrooper domino rally.

3.
The most prevalent figure in the original Star Wars universe.
You're going to get a lot of crap from your friends if you don't get
this one.

4. Like I've mentioned in many a post,
helmeted figures are automatically cool. Having one that looks like a
skull-head is even cooler.

5. Recreate your own
exciting version of the conversation near the death star's tractor
beam: "Must be another drill." Oh, the drama!

Backstory:

Stormtroopers
grew out of the surviving clone troopers that served in the Clone
Wars. By the time of the first movie, about 1/3 of stormtroopers were
from Jango Fett's original DNA, the rest were from other DNA
sources and humans recruited in the traditional manner.

A
stormtroopers armor was made of a plastoid composite fitted over a
black body glove. This gave some protection from blaster shots
(obviously not a lot given the movies' body count) and protection
against most climates. In fact there was a limited air supply built
in and troopers could survive in the vacuum of space for short
periods. The E-11 blaster rifle was standard issue for most troopers
(the one that came with the figure).

When not in
the white armor, stormtroopers wore a black dress uniform, seen
mainly in the first movie aboard the death star. About the only
variation that stormtroopers had were the shoulder pauldrons to show
rank (see the stormtroopers on Tatooine in the first movie),
otherwise the Empire wanted an across-the-board uniform appearance.

The
stormtroopers were a feared force...until Endor. After their defeat
by a handful of Rebels and primitive natives, two things changed.
One, the stormtroopers were no longer seen as such an imposing
force, and two, stormtroopers finally got some camouflaged armor -
white was a glaringly obvious target.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Now, even being a minor character - in the film, very
minor - you have to admit that the action figure for Squid Head is
actually pretty well done. The head, the bulky hands, the
figure-trimming metal corset (or whatever the heck that thing is).

Squid
Head comes with a blaster pistol that is grey, but is the same mold
as used for the Lando and Bespin Guard figures. Squidee (as his
friends call him) was only released on a ROTJ card, but was one of the
first ROTJ figs released. Squid Head had some nice cloth robes, and
the metal "corset" could be removed.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. As therapy reference for those things that used to abduct you at night.

2. The best representation of a squid in head form...ever.

3.
Again, as said many times before, your Jabba diorama is not
complete without this figure. At least until your girlfriend makes
you take it down.

4. C'mon - the name? So ridiculous you have to get him.

5. The patron figure of accountants (see below) and Cthulu fans.

Backstory:

Squid
Head is a Quarren called Tessek. Quarrens actually originate from
the same planet as Calamarians (Admiral Ackbar), Mon Calamari. Tessek
had to flee his homeworld after an Imperial invasion. He ended up
as an accountant for Jabba, and, like many of his acquaintances,
planned the Hutt's death. He didn't get the chance to kill Jabba, but
he did manage to escape the sand barge just in time.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

The
Ugnaught was one of those background characters that enjoyed a
little foreground action, but not much. The figure reflects this with
a tote kit/bag as an accessory, and a removable apron. That’s it.
It came on both ESB and ROTJ cards, and the aprons came in light
purple, blue, and even green. The apron in the movie, however, was
just blue.

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:
1. He’s so cute – he’s like Babe!

2. Recreate the Wookiee-on-Ugnaught action!

3. Someone needs to man the Bespin playset, even if it is only made of paper.

4. Yo’ mama’s an Ugnaught! Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.

5. No one does carbon freezing like an Ugnaught.

Backstory:

Ugnaughts
were either from Umgul or Bespin, but originated on Gentes. When
Cloud City was originally built (a looooong time before ESB) many
Ugnaughts were recruited to build and maintain it. Many of their
descendants still lived on Bespin. When the Empire came many fled,
some were enslaved, and some formed a resistance, sabotaging Cloud
City until the Rebellion came to free the city.

Ugnaughts
are typically dwarf-sized, and live to about 200 years. These are
the little guys Chewbacca fought with to get C-3PO’s limbs back.

Nothing
underscores Kenner’s naivete about “nothing sells an item like
including a figure with it” more than the Speeder Bike. In the
original line no figure was included with anything – they were all sold
separately” AT-AT Drivers, TIE Pilots, A-Wing & B-Wing Pilots,
and, of course, Biker Scouts. This was the smallest vehicle which had
a specific “driver” for it, yet it still didn’t come with one in the
same package. Oh, well, Hasbro obviously learned their lessons from
Kenner's Star Wars and made up for it with G.I. Joe. Heck, every other
vehicle in that line came with a figure (and Hasbro bought Kenner -
just sayin').

The toy
came in ROTJ box, and featured a “blow apart” feature. It also nicely
balanced on its two “legs” when at rest, despite the fact that most of
the vehicle seemed to be in front. The toy was pretty accurate to the
actual vehicle, except for the addition of a T-bar to hold figures in
the seat. When the Bike was re-released in the 90’s, the figures
(Luke, Leia, Scout) that came with one all had bendable knees and hips.

Why should you get this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. Flying through the air at breakneck speeds and narrowly missing stuff? What kid wouldn’t want that?

2. Make alternate history: that Ewok steals the Bike and gets blown up.

3. A cheap vehicle and lots of them were featured in the movie? You have to at least get a couple dude.

4. Like many Star Wars vehicles, if you got it, you held out hope that your parents would get the actual pilot for it.

5. Easy to hold, so a vehicle with immense play value. What? I’m serious sometimes.

Backstory:

The
Speeder Bikes featured in the movie were 74-Z’s, the military version
of the 74-Y (of course!). Steering was controlled through the
handlebars, and acceleration was controlled on the foot pedals. They
had sensor and communication devices, as well as one for jamming
commlinks. It also had a front-mounted rotating blaster cannon. They
are built by Aratech Repulsor Company and have been around since the
Clone Wars. They can reach speeds up to 500 kph, and heights up to 25
m.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Okay, so technically I already posted this with the original Landspeeder (or, as on this box, "Land Speeder"), but it is a different name, so I am posting it here.

One
of the first vehicles released in the original line, the Land
Speeder represented the finest in Tatooine luxury and comfort. In
other words, it was the used car you gave to your son or daughter
learning to drive - a beater. Not like your dad's car with the Bantha-hide seats.

The
toy was actually a bit more luxurious than the movie vehicle,
because most of the vehicles in the movie were supposed to be from
Lucas' "used" universe. It wasn't until manufacturing processes
caught up in the 1990's that the vehicles got a more weathered look.
The 90's version of the Landspeeder even had wrecked engine plating
like the movie.

If you're a child of the 80's you
may remember this kind of "remote" control for sonic toys.
Basically, the vehicle "heard" the audible click of the remote, there
was no actual signal. When it heard the click it would make a
J-turn in reverse. I had another toy like this from the Starriors
line (Deadeye and Cricket - but I don't expect anyone but me to
remember that). The only other differences from the original toy was
that the engine cover didn't open, there were pegs behind the seats
for figures to stand, and it was slightly larger. The Sonic version
was only available through J.C. Penney, back when they used to be a
big cheese in retail.

The landspeeder was released again in 1983 with a "classic" label on the box, distinguishing it from the 1978 release.

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. As Billy Dee would say, the wheels gave a smooth ride, like a Colt 45 Malt Liquor.

2.
This was the one vehicle you didn't mind your younger sibling
playing with. It was fun to watch them try to recreate the picture on
the box only to figure out that there was no way R2-D2 and C-3PO
actually stayed on.

3. It was like a Hot Wheels, it
glided across the floor pretty well and didn't need you holding it
up in the air the whole time.

4. No other vehicle felt as enjoyable while mowing down Jawas and Sand People.

5.
Kenner tricked you into thinking it was a four-figure vehicle, when
the only way the droids were staying on is if you didn't move it
and no heavy trucks passed by your house.

Backstory:

Luke's
landspeeder was an X-34 built by the Sorusuub Corporation (a
popular manufacturer in the galaxy). Its popularity waned once
Sorusuub came out with the XP-38 landspeeder, which looked similar
except for more rectangular engines (never shown in the movies),
much like the engines on the V-35 Courier landspeeder, shown in the
Lars garage.

Landspeeders work using repulsorlifts
that support it whether in motion or not. Turbine engines give it
forward momentum. Sources say that the X-34 had a top speed of 250
kph, or 155 mph. The cockpit could be closed, but obviously Luke
liked the wind whipping through his blond, feathered hair and sand
in his eyes.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

This
figure represents a case of blatant false advertising, since it
says “Sand People” and there is clearly only one Sand Person in the
package. I’m still waiting for my lawsuit to make it through the
courts.

A Sand Person came with a gaffi stick as an
accessory (you know, where he stood over Luke and shook it in the
air), and a vinyl cape already on. A known variations of the figure
are hollow and solid face tubes right below the eyes. The Sand
People figure was one of the original twelve, the first wave, and
came on SW, ESB, and ROTJ cards. Its name was changed by the ROTJ
card to read “Tusken Raider (Sand People).”

As a
kid, this was always my WTF character, as in WTF was it? Yes, I knew
it was a Sand Person, but it was kind of scary looking and I just
didn’t like it. If there was ever a character that gave me the creeps
(as much as the Star Wars movies did) it was the Sand Person. I
don’t know what it was, but it might have been because the 18-minute
Super 8 version we had of the first movie featured it prominently.
Who knows?

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Give that whiny Luke figure the beat-down he deserves.

2. Have it ride a Bantha, oh wait, that’s right. They never made one for the original line. But they made a frickin’ dewback!

Sand
People were an offshoot of a people indigenous to Tatooine for
millennia. When a global disaster struck the planet, this civilization
eventually evolved into Sand People and Jawas. Much later in their
history, after a series of raids which forced out the colonists in the
town of Fort Tusken, the Sand People became known as Tusken
Raiders.

Unlike the Jawas, Sand People disregarded
most technology. For attack and defense they used gaffi sticks, or
gaderffii. They do occasionally gather enough metal scrap to make
rifles, however. These can be seen in SW and Episode I. Sand People
stay covered from head to toe to keep in moisture and protect them
from the harsh desert climate. They roam in small tribes, and
domesticate native banthas for transportation. Like the Jawas, they
subsist mainly on native hubba gourds for nutrition and hydration.

About
the only things that Sand People truly fear are krayt dragons, a
large carnivore indigenous to Tatooine. In fact, the howl that
Obi-wan makes in the first movie to scare the Sand People was a
krayt dragon roar. The skeleton that C-3PO passes in the desert was
that of a krayt dragon (the prop of which was left there and is still
there today).

Monday, July 22, 2013

Romba is the vacuum droid that is marketed to households. Oh, wait, I'm thinking of something else.

Romba
was one of the “last seventeen” figures – the POTF line. He only
came on a POTF card, and despite having this honor, at least he
wasn’t already produced on another card. Romba came with a spear,
although he is also shown using a bow and arrow in the movie. Again, I
am always disappointed by short figures who don’t come with more
accessories because I feel cheated. Cheated! Ah, well. It's also
baffling that Kenner chose to make yet another Ewok in their POTF
line, rather than something cooler - like they did with Amanaman.

Romba
is another Ewok, but I guess if you have all the Ewok vehicles and
accessories you need all the Ewoks just to man them all.

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:

1. Oh, why should we get anything?

2. Like stated above, there was so much Ewok crap, you need all the Ewok figures just to have

one on everything.

3. He came with a coin. That’s something, isn’t it?

4. Some good old fashioned Ewok stormtrooper bashing.

5. No one else in the village makes an Imperial helmet drum like Romba.

Backstory:

Romba
was one of the first to find C-3PO, and might have recognized him
from the Droids/Ewoks cartoon crossover, which would have occurred
before this point and is mostly taken as canon in the Star Wars
universe. He also helped construct some AT-ST traps, man a catapault,
and fire bows and arrows and Imperials. His notable scene was where
he and a friend were hit by a blast, and he mourned his fallen
comrade onscreen.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Hey,
he’s got three eyes. Oh, wait, Ree-Yees, wow, what a remarkable
coincidence of a name! Next, you’ll be telling me they worked in some
reference to his goat-like appearance. His race is Gran? Like granny
goat? Wow.

So, now that my fun is
over, let’s actually look at the figure. Ree-Yees came with a blaster
rifle that is referenced nowhere else, so it may be one that Kenner
just made up. His
head and suit are fairly accurate to the figure, of course, after
the first movie’s weird and very clothing-inaccurate figures this was
more common. He only came on an ROTJ card.

Ree-Yees
(a Gran with deformed hands) was wanted for murder on his home
planet kinyen, so he hid out at Jabba’s court, taking care of Jabba’s
pet, Bubo. Jabba distrusted him, so he planted a bomb on Ree-Yees
that could be activated with a phrase. Jabba was right to not trust
him, since he was planning to kill Jabba on the sand barge. This
never came to fruition, however, since Luke and the gang blew it up,
along with Ree-Yees. Jabba was also strangled by Leia before he could
activate Ree-Yee’s implanted bomb.

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Simple - we put up an action figure a day. If you subscribe to us, a vintage Star Wars action figure / vehicle goes to your RSS reader daily. How much more nostalgia could you want? Remember to click on the pictures to see them up-close and full-size!